Medical Malpractice Lawyers & Contingency Fee Arrangements

UPDATED: Jul 15, 2021

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UPDATED: Jul 15, 2021Fact Checked

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Jeffrey Johnson

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Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

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UPDATED: Jul 15, 2021

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It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.

We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

UPDATED: Jul 15, 2021

Advertiser Disclosure

It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.

We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

UPDATED: Jul 15, 2021Fact Checked

Medical malpractice attorney fees are often negotiable. Many lawyers will take a malpractice case on a contingency basis, which means that if the case is successful the lawyer will keep a percentage of the settlement, usually between 20 and 40 percent. Many states place a limit on the contingency percentage in medical malpractice cases. Most of these states use a sliding scale based on the amount of the settlement or judgment. For example, fees are allowed up to 33 1/3% for the first $300,000, 25% for the next $300,000, and the percentage then continues to decrease as the plaintiff’s recovery amount increases.

Billing options can be creative. For example, you could propose monthly bills or because your case could drag on for several years, you should negotiate a tiered fee so that you pay increasing percentages as your case progresses towards trial. For example, you would only pay 25% if your case settles before trial, 33% if it goes to trial and 40% if it goes up on appeal.

You could also negotiate fees based on the settlement total. For example, you would agree to pay your lawyer 33 1/3% for the first $300,000, 25% for the next $300,000, and the percentage would continue to decrease as your settlement amount increased.

Additionally, if you demand that the advanced expenses be paid before the lawyer’s fee is calculated, your recovery may significantly increase. For example, suppose your settlement is $500,000. Your medical expenses, expert fees, court costs and other expenses equal $100,000. Instead of paying the attorney a percentage of $500,000, subtract the $100,000 of expenses first and pay the attorney a percentage of $400,000.

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Jeffrey Johnson

Insurance Lawyer

Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

Insurance Lawyer

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

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